Embrace the Noise! Who has the loudest shutter?

anfenglin · Jan 5, 2015

My Nikon F3 is not paticularly quiet but a lot quieter than the Kiev 60 I used to have. It wasn't too loud but very nasty, a sort of "KAPFLONK", then a again, soviet and eastern gear isn't neccessarily know for its restraint. My Fuji GA645 on the other hand is very loud, the shutter itself is almost quiet, being a leaf shutter, the film advance and the focusing gets people's attention. I've been to a museum in Berlin almost shocking an older gentleman into a heart attack. From that moment on I used my little Retina IC and I was inaudible
The by far nastiest piece of of noise on a camera I ever came across came from a Canon AF35ML, a qirky little thing, boating a 40mm 1.9 I think, no IR autofocus, so pretty unseless in low light and loud as hell. Not the actual shutter but the film advance. It went "snap-SCREEEEECH!!!!". Disgusting. I got rid of it as fast as I could.

benjiboy · Jan 5, 2015

flavio81 said:
Agree. My Canon EF is my loudest 35mm SLR, it also has the Copal vertical shutter.

The quietest one is the Minox 35, and by far !!

I've never thought my Canon EF was particularly loud Flavio, but it did have a complete service about three years ago.

TheFlyingCamera · Jan 5, 2015

Not so much shutter noise as film advance - a Koni Omega 6x7 roll film back on one of the Koni press cameras. Advance a frame and it sounds like you just cranked up a two-stroke chainsaw motor.

DWThomas · Jan 5, 2015

dynachrome said:
Dave T, Greg Weber would be happy to repair your Konica FP [gweber@webercamera.com]. I have two nicely working FP cameras with shiny 52/1.4 lenses. The FP is no lightweight and yes, it is loud. I like the beautiful finder and enjoy using them.

Thanks -- I should give that some thought. Might be fun to have it work again, I agree the 52mm 1.4 was quite good.

Steve Smith · Jan 5, 2015

wiltw said:
I have a sound level meter which was originally purchased for balancing multichannel speakers for home theater. I just did measurements using A-weighted scale, all cameras set to 1/60 f/4, at a distance of 12" from front of camera body to sound level meter.

Some people have too much time on their hands!!

Although I do own an SPL meter myself...

(did you really think the aperture would nake a difference?!!).

Steve.

dynachrome · Jan 5, 2015

I am not a sound expert but I can tell you that decibel levels alone do not tell the whole story. There is the pitch of the sound, the duration of all of the sounds and the number of different sounds. It's funny that with some non-SLR digital cameras, if the imitation shutter sound effect is turned off, you can barely hear them fire.

Hatchetman · Jan 5, 2015

Pentax 6x7 sounds like a shotgun going off.

wiltw · Jan 5, 2015

Steve Smith said:
(did you really think the aperture would nake a difference?!!).

No, merely eliminating variables from testing! I see too many 'comparisons' that are totally meaningless because of variables

Steve Smith · Jan 5, 2015

dynachrome said:
I am not a sound expert but I can tell you that decibel levels alone do not tell the whole story. There is the pitch of the sound, the duration of all of the sounds and the number of different sounds.

Yes. With A weighting, it should match the perception of the human ear. There is more energy in low frequency sounds, so in A weighting, the low frequencies are rolled off a bit and it is increased a bit in the high-mid region. The other measuring method is C weighting which is more linear.

At 1KHz, the two measurements should be the same.

Steve.

bsdunek · Jan 5, 2015

This must by why digital cameras have adjustable shutter sound. They don't want to be left out.

bdial · Jan 5, 2015

Years ago the symphony of sounds from a motor-driven Nikon F got me out of an unpleasant monthly assignment. Up to then, and then afterward the photos were done by nice quiet Graflex XL rangfinders.

MattKing · Jan 5, 2015

TheFlyingCamera said:
Not so much shutter noise as film advance - a Koni Omega 6x7 roll film back on one of the Koni press cameras. Advance a frame and it sounds like you just cranked up a two-stroke chainsaw motor.

I always thought it was more like the sound of cycling a pump shot gun

AgX · Jan 5, 2015

blockend said:
The Canon T70 shutter isn't too loud but the film advance should have guidelines for ear protection.

Not at my samples. The strongest noise is the one at the start of the exposure.
(Tested without lens though. But the film advance does seem extraordinary noisy to me.)

TheFlyingCamera · Jan 5, 2015

MattKing said:
I always thought it was more like the sound of cycling a pump shot gun

Whatever the sound, it's loud and angry Useful when you need to scare someone, but utterly ruinous when you're in need of stealth.

Frankly Unsharp · Jan 5, 2015

Did anyone say Minolta SR- series? Probably not the loudest, but that metallic "pling" -sound is wonderful! And they all have their own individual tone, or so it seems. When we come to the SR-T's that sound is gone, and something is lost. (Note that I'm starting to sound like some character from The Lord of the Rings!). I've always felt that this moment in time was some kind of a turning-point for Minolta, the beginning of a slow decay... (Yes, the roots go deep, milord)

Theo Sulphate · Jan 5, 2015

benjiboy said:
I 'm surprised that photograph is allowed in U.S courts , It certainly Isn't in British ones.

These days the more sensational cases are televised (e.g. Jodi Arias trial). The reason given is that the public has the right to know what is happening in a trial (nothing hidden). A case could be made that simple reporting without cameras can still satisfy this. However, the media enjoy any ratings success and viewership it brings them. There's also the argument that the presence of cameras affects the trial (e.g. the O.J. Simpson circus).

Pioneer · Jan 5, 2015

I just have to get me a Bronica, that is all there is to it.

My Pentax 645Nii, Fuji GA645 and Pentax PZ1p are all pretty loud as well but most of that is the film advance motors, the shutter itself is actually fairly well damped.

Interestingly my Minolta SRT 102 is not that loud. It does have that wonderful little "ping" but that can be hard to hear in a crowd of boisterous sports fans.

I am not even certain that my Spottie has the loudest shutter of my cameras or not. But it is probably close. I don't really know when it was serviced last since I inherited it in good condition. There is probably a chance that the mirror bumper is wearing out though it still looks fine.

Pioneer · Jan 5, 2015

Theo Sulphate said:
benjiboy said:

I 'm surprised that photograph is allowed in U.S courts , It certainly Isn't in British ones.

These days the more sensational cases are televised (e.g. Jodi Arias trial). The reason given is that the public has the right to know what is happening in a trial (nothing hidden). A case could be made that simple reporting without cameras can still satisfy this. However, the media enjoy any ratings success and viewership it brings them. There's also the argument that the presence of cameras affects the trial (e.g. the O.J. Simpson circus).

Click to expand...

If the judge permits it then photography is allowed. Now days it is pretty common to see cameras but the judge can certainly revoke that permission if you are using a camera with a loud, distracting shutter.

Ko.Fe. · Jan 5, 2015

All I have and have had are (were) loud comparing to Oly XA and Agat-18K.
My Canon 5Dc DSLR very loud shutter actually forced me to film street photography with little and next to silent 35mm XA.
On film side my loud fiasco was with Bessa L. I purchased it for street photography, but it has clunky, dual, metal shutter.
It is OK street camera for very busy streets with traffic, but in Canada it is only in Toronto downtown, which I'm no regular.

Steve Smith · Jan 5, 2015

Pioneer said:
Theo Sulphate said:

If the judge permits it then photography is allowed. Now days it is pretty common to see cameras but the judge can certainly revoke that permission if you are using a camera with a loud, distracting shutter.

Click to expand...

So magnesium flash powder is out then?!

Steve.

blockend · Jan 5, 2015

Quietest 35mm film camera I own - Yashica Minister D with Copal leaf shutter. Only audible in a silent living room.
Quietest MF film camera, ditto - Zeiss Ikon Nettar. Inaudible in outdoor conditions.
Quietest d*g*t*l camera - Fuji X10. Only audible when pressed to ear in an empty room.
Quietest imaging device - iPhone. Completely silent with sound off.

All well off topic.

fresnel10 · Jan 5, 2015

Hatchetman said:
Pentax 6x7 sounds like a shotgun going off.

I was once out shooting with one and a lady near me jumped when that mirror went *FWAP!*...I knew it was loud, but wasn't expecting such a reaction!

Sirius Glass · Jan 5, 2015

The WideLux has a distinctive wrrr, the my noisiest goes to my Hasselblad 503 CX, Pacemaker Speed Graphic and Graflex Model D. The Hasselblad has a distinctive THUNK while the focal plane 4"x5" shutters have distinctive ZZZZIPPPP Thunk of their own.

Theo Sulphate · Jan 5, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
The WideLux has a distinctive wrrr, the my noisiest goes to my Hasselblad 503 CX, Pacemaker Speed Graphic and Graflex Model D. The Hasselblad has a distinctive THUNK while the focal plane 4"x5" shutters have distinctive ZZZZIPPPP Thunk of their own.

Yes. In my front room, if a curtain rod were to snap and the curtains fell to the floor, I imagine that would sound exactly like the focal plane shutter set to 1/30 on my Pacemaker Speed Graphic (*snap* *flopppppp*).

Pioneer · Jan 5, 2015

Steve Smith said:
Pioneer said:

So magnesium flash powder is out then?!

Steve.

Click to expand...

What??

When did that happen???

Darn I wish someone would tell me these things. Now what am I going to do with those two 55 gallon steel drums of the stuff I had delivered to the house the other day?

Embrace the Noise! Who has the loudest shutter?

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